About the Team

Caleb J. Murphy is a songwriter, composer, and multi-instrumentalist based in Austin, Tx. He’s been playing guitar since 2002, writing songs since 2005, and producing music shortly after that. After getting a few (unofficial) basic guitar lessons from his brother, he taught himself guitar the rest of the way. Since then, he tries out any instrument he can get his hands on, like piano, banjo, ukulele, and cheap keyboards from the 90s.

When he sits down with a guitar, he rarely has a pick, instead opting to play songs with his fingers (whether strummed or plucked). His guitar playing is heavily influenced by Nick Drake, Kings Of Convenience, and Jack Johnson.

He likes to share what he learns with other musicians, whether it’s from personal experience or through deep research. He’s written for CD Baby, Sonicbids, Bandzoogle, Consequence Of Sound, and Tunedly, among others. He’s also gotten the chance to interview super talented artists like Ray LaMontagne, Josh Groban, and Shakey Graves.

As an introvert, he spends most of his music time in the studio, writing and recording tracks for his albums and for licensing in commercial videos. He’s currently in love with Reaper (DAW) and his microphones include an Audio-Technica AT2035 and an ElectroVoice ND257 (which he found at a thrift store for under $10).

Dan is a music tutor and writer. He has played piano since he was 4, and guitar and drum kit since he was 11.

He plays a Guild acoustic and a Pacifica electric.He has been sent to many festivals and gigs (ranging from pop to extreme metal) as both a photographer and reviewer, with his proudest achievement so far being an interview he has with Steve Hackett (ex-Genesis guitarist).

He ranks among his favourite ever guitarists, alongside Guthrie Govan, Jimmy Page, Jimi Hendrix, David Gilmour and Robert Fripp. His favourite genre of music is progressive rock, which he likes to use as a reference point in my teaching, thanks to its huge complexity in structure, rhythm and harmony. However, he is also into a lot of other genres including jazz, 90’s hip-hop, death metal and 20th century classical music.

He is also the drummer, keyboard player and occasional guitarist and backing vocalist of my band, Beatrix Kiddo Experiment, which you can find here. They have been working on their debut EP, while spending a lot of time gigging when they can.

Tyler Farley has worked as a guitar teacher in both the United States and South Korea. He has taught people from different age groups, cultures, and wide skill gaps to play guitar. His core belief: Music makes us uniquely human, we should share it with each other whenever we get the chance.

The three guitarists whose playing influenced him the most are Joe Bonamassa, Dave Mustaine, and Prince.

He has played guitar for over ten years and although he is not even close to being good at them, he tries to play piano, bass, and drums as well. His taste in guitar playing and music overall is eclectic to say the least. He listens to and tries to play everything from jazz to hip hop to metal to blues to soul. Recently, his ‘most listened to’ has been A Tribe Called Quest, MeloMance, and anything Cory Wong is on.

Guilherme Lazzari is a lawyer and singer/songwriter based in Curitiba, Brazil. After graduating from law school, he found himself eager to explore his creativity outside the 9 to 5 days, especially through playing his electric guitar.

Not longer after that, he began writing his own songs, influenced by the grunge and Britpop scenes of the 90s.  After a few rehearsals with some friends, he formed and became the lead singer and guitarist for the band Urbanites, that released two EPs in 2017 and 2018 (available on Spotify, Youtube and others).

José G. Zapata, known as “Zeta”, is a professional AV Producer and Music Producer based in Caracas, Venezuela. He has a BA in Social Communications and a Berkley diploma in Songwriting. 

Music and comedy are Zeta’s passions, although music came first. It came with his dad, really. Zeta grew up listening to Pink Floyd, AC/DC, Saxon, Rush, and similar bands.

He learned how to play bass at 15. It was a cheap Epiphone SG bass guitar. It was read, small, had two knobs and a beautiful sound. At least beautiful enough for his incredible 10-people audiences.

The first song he learned was “Another Brick in the Wall Pt. 2” by Pink Floyd. I know it’s a bit common, in a way, but it was amazing at the moment. However, he always preferred to write songs on his own rather than learning someone else’s. Even if it was all power chords...even if it was all a single power chord. 

His music-centric life let him to destinations based on how he would achieve his goals faster. After a couple of years of “office” experience, he decided it wasn’t best to work for others. Only for himself and for his family. 

He grew up with music in his mind, playing for various bands in Caracas and, eventually, he joined a home studio in the city. With his help, his passion, and his investment, the studio grew and now produces a full range of rock bands in the city.  

Zeta also remembers how he grew up as the “jokester” in both the family and the school. He used to sit on the biggest stool there was during family dinners to tell funny stories about his life or about apples who could talk. 

He still does it, but he’s an adult who can say curse words now. And whatever he tells, he does it with charisma. 

Now, with both music and comedy, he decided to mix them both together in a professional way and began producing his own parody music. He launched a comedy channel on YouTube which is slowly gaining popularity in the country. 

He learned quick enough he had a talent for videoclips, so he saved money for a video camera, lights, mics, and a computer.

And he never studied AV Production, though. He’s a proud YouTube son filling his gaps with the love he has for films and the Jonh Wick franchise. 

So Zeta, during the last year, transitioned from the studio to his own AV studio producing video clips. And whatever he does, he does it with passion.

Zeta’s areas of expertise include songwriting, bass guitar, rock genres, music history; as well as filmmaking, comedy, and AV production.

Cheanné Lombard lives in the home of one of the new Seven World Wonders, Cape Town, South Africa. She can’t go a day without listening to or making music.

Her love of music started when her grandparents gave her a guitar. It was a smaller version of the full-sized guitars fit for her little hands. Later came a keyboard and a few years after that, a beautiful dreadnought guitar and a violin too. While she is self-taught when it comes to the guitar, she had piano lessons as a child and is now taking violin lessons as an adult.

She has been playing guitar for over 15 years and enjoys a good jam session with her husband, also an avid guitarist. In fact, the way he played those jazzy, bluesy numbers that kindled the fire in her punk rock heart. Now she explores a variety of genres and plays in the church worship group too and with whoever else is up for a jam session.

Paul R. Ramsey is a musician/writer based in Asheville, NC. He has a B.S. in Political Science from East Tennessee State University. He was always interested in music, specifically guitars, and after he heard classic lead guitarists like Randy Rhoads and Duane Allman on the radio as a child, he knew he had to know the path to their seemingly supernatural ability to let their emotions flow freely through an instrument. After his uncle let him listen to Tool’s 10,000 Days the week of it’s release, his fate as a music fanatic was sealed. He will listen to any type of music that comes from the heart, but he leans towards alternative, country, soul, and a multitude of metal subgenres. 

Paul “taught himself by ear” with the old family acoustic for several years, but by the time he was 14, that was proving to be much too slow, and he got a Fender Starcaster and a used Fender Bassman from a pawn shop, not even aware his amp was meant for bass guitars. Shortly after, he took lessons at a local music store, and it finally clicked. After formal lessons, and many long nights of practicing away, he gained the tools to actually learn a song by listening to it, and never looked back. He formed a band called Headspace in college, who had a ‘no rules’ ethos and wrote songs ranging from pop punk to ambient, but when the band members graduated, the project ended. He is in the process of learning how to digitally record and produce a song by himself in hopes of releasing material to the world.  

Nowadays, Paul’s favorite guitar is his 1978 Ibanez “lawsuit” guitar, essentially a Les Paul Custom, but made by Ibanez in a not-so-honest era of production. He plays a range of other electric and acoustic guitars, including a Schecter C-1 he’s modified over the years, Zakk Wylde’s signature LP Custom, a Takamine G-series, and a cigar box guitar, all set for different tunings to give each instrument a special role. If it came down to it, he would say the three most influential guitarists to him are Adam Jones, Derek Trucks, and Chris Cornell. 

Over the past year, Paul has picked up piano quite fast, learning his favorite Nine inch Nails instrumental pieces, and then some. While he doesn’t own any of the following instruments, he can also play bass guitar and ukulele, and can play some basic patterns on banjo. If he’s not practicing an instrument, you can find him exploring the woods, following a workout routine at the gym, spending time in the kitchen, or rearranging his pedalboard for the 50th time.